Toronto non-mall retail (Odds & Ends)

[AlbertC]

http://www.blogto.com/film/2012/02/bloor_cinema_set_to_re-open_in_mid_march/

Bloor Cinema set to re-open in mid March

Posted by Robyn Urback / FEBRUARY 15, 2012

 

[eller]

I noticed that there is a new Leslieville Cheese Market setting up shop in the plaza on Donlands just south of O'Connor. Is this the beginning of the gentrification of the area?

 

[Skeezix]

I noticed that there is a new Leslieville Cheese Market setting up shop in the plaza on Donlands just south of O'Connor. Is this the beginning of the gentrification of the area?

Fresh from the Farm, the store selling Mennonite and Amish meats and foods, has been there for a few years now, and I hear good things about Select Bakery (though I have never even ventured inside), so perhaps a small foodie cluster is developing at that intersection.

 

[androiduk]

Application: Building Additions/Alterations Status: Not Started

Location: 262 BLOOR ST W
TORONTO ON M5S 1V9

Ward 20: Trinity-Spadina

Application#: 11 330769 BLD 01 BA Accepted Date: Feb 27, 2012

Project: Multiple Use/Non Residential Interior Alterations

Description: REVISION - to remove sprinklers on the ground floor. Sprinklers in basement to remain as is. Proposal for interior alterations to existing ground floor unit (with basement) for new tenant - Brooks Brothers.

 

[Student99]

Application: Building Additions/Alterations Status: Not Started

Location: 262 BLOOR ST W
TORONTO ON M5S 1V9

Ward 20: Trinity-Spadina

Application#: 11 330769 BLD 01 BA Accepted Date: Feb 27, 2012

Project: Multiple Use/Non Residential Interior Alterations

Description: REVISION - to remove sprinklers on the ground floor. Sprinklers in basement to remain as is. Proposal for interior alterations to existing ground floor unit (with basement) for new tenant - Brooks Brothers.

sounds like they'll be covering parts of three storeys then, with basement, ground, and 2nd.

 

[ACT7]

http://www.torontolife.com/daily/st...&utm_medium=plugin&utm_campaign=further-style

Dandy man Philip Sparks is opening up a real store (no more opo-up shops for him!)

Philip Sparks fans who are tired of waiting for that interminably slow elevator in the Burroughes building (or, Heaven forfend, walking those five flights of stairs) will be happy to learn that the designer is finally opening a permanent retail space on Ossington. Set to open on March 15 at 162 Ossington Avenue (beside Ideal Coffee), the Sparks retail store will house his men’s and women’s collections, though footwear won’t be sold in-store right away. This will be one of Ossington’s few clothing retailers (save for Jonathan and Olivia and a smattering of vintage dealers) among a sea of bars—here’s hoping Sparks gets some extra-boozy brunch traffic.

 

[ACT7]

Looks like Buckler on Queen is closing. That's too bad - great store and the only other Buckler boutique in N.A. other than NYC. It was always reasonably busy when I went in there so I wonder what happened.

 

[ACT7]

http://www.thestar.com/living/fashi...um-french-furniture-brand-opens-toronto-store

Exerpt:

Gautier, a premium French furniture brand, opens Toronto store

By Rita ZekasSpecial to the Star

Special to The Star


“Come to the party for Gautier, a French line of furniture,” we were urged over the phone.

We immediately assumed the line was designed by Jean Paul Gaultier. Visions of sailor jersey-striped couches and headboards of torpedo bras sprang to mind.

But we were wrong. Gautier has nothing to do with the infamous fashion designer.

Gautier is a 50-year-old premium French furniture brand with more than 70 stores worldwide.

Everything is manufactured in France except for the couches, made in Belgium and Poland, and the home accessories, which are outsourced. It is eco-friendly: their particle boards are made of wood from sustainably managed forests or from recycled scrap wood.

Gautier opened January 3 at 230 Adelaide St. E., the first store in North America. Brother and sister Russian émigrés Alexey Miroshnichenko and Tatyana Smykov co-own the T.O. franchise.

 

[grey]

That store is right beside BoConcept in the Vu Condos. They had a booth at the Interior Design show in February with furniture for children / toddlers. Nice stuff.

 

[AlbertC]

http://torontoist.com/2012/03/a-queen-street-icon-finds-its-silver-lining/

A Queen Street Icon Finds Its Silver Lining

The comic book store Silver Snail may be moving on from its 36-year stint on Queen, but it’s also moving forward.

By Kyle Bachan

Torontoist: When is the last official day at the Queen Street location?

George Zotti: The end of June. That might change. If we can find a place before then, we’ll probably move sooner.

We were supposed to move probably come March, but we just weren’t finding a place, and then the landlord approached us and asked us if we could stay for a while. So we said “yeah, sure,” because he’s been giving us a great rent and we haven’t found a place that feels like home yet.

So are they definitely demolishing the building?

Oh yeah, the building’s coming down. I think they’re going to rebuild it and then put in some higher-end retail. Something like a GAP or a Guess—some sort of national or international chain.

They do have to keep parts of it because it’s a historic building. They’re going to keep the façade that’s underneath the stucco that we put up that has all the superheroes on it. The first 18 feet of our building has tin ceilings—they are vintage tin ceilings—so they have to keep those.

Are you still looking to settle in the Annex?

Yeah, we’re still looking in the Annex and along Yonge Street. We’ve gotten a lot of resistance leaving Queen Street. A lot of our customer base and a lot of the people I’ve been talking to really don’t like us leaving Queen Street. So we’ve actually expanded our search to start looking at Queen again. But it would be on the west side of Spadina where things are a little cheaper.

You previously mentioned plans to reopen Silver Snail with a cafe element?

Yes, we’d very much like to put in a cafe when we move the store. We’re trying to stress the physical aspect of it. You’re running here on your lunch to buy your comics and then maybe you want to sit down and have a cup of coffee and read the latest Batman. We’ll probably do things like set up along a bench—we’ll download comic books, put it on iPads, and let people sample some stuff.

 

[ACT7]

I think the Swedish clothing store Eton has opened up on Yonge, between York Mills and Lawrence. If it's the brand I'm thinking of (and I think it is), it's a great semi-high-end brand and this would be the third stand-alone store in N.A. after NYC and Montreal. It's a peculiar location for it though - not a tonne of foot traffic in that area.

 

[Kingsway]

That is a horrible location for ETON. Are you sure it wasn't the COOP running a big ETON display? I know they sell them at their new location just south of Belly Buster Subs.

 

[ACT7]

That is a horrible location for ETON. Are you sure it wasn't the COOP running a big ETON display? I know they sell them at their new location just south of Belly Buster Subs.

Pretty sure - it looks like a full Eton store from the signage and the design. I agree - very weird location for it. I'll do another drive-by today to see.

 

[FAC33]

For those of you following the changes in the PATH stores, it looks like the store in the TD Centre recently vacated by Grand and Toy (although they've moved elsewhere in the centre for now) along with the adjoining couple of stores is now slated to become a Shopper's by summer. That means the existing Shoppers should be vacating--wonder if that's where the Grand and Toy will eventually go?

Also, the La Senza is now closed.

 

[ACT7]

That is a horrible location for ETON. Are you sure it wasn't the COOP running a big ETON display? I know they sell them at their new location just south of Belly Buster Subs.

You're right, it's COOP with an all ETON store front. Very confusing when you drive it...